Clare Bowditch And The Feeding Set
The Moon Looked On
EMI


Clare Bowditch doesn't sit still. She pauses intermittently to give birth and hops back into the saddle, collating organic songs for the folk lover buried in us all. Her vocal twangs and down to earth air are what sets her aside from the ho hum female folk musician and here she has delivered yet again.

A dirty mind has tainted a once pure lady on the charming but cheeky You Looked So Good which relates her thoughts of shenanigans in a cubicle and closes with the line "did I hear correctly sir/Were you asking me to sit on you?" This quirky tune opens a record that continues to use the clean acoustic sounds from her preceding repertoire while adding said cheekiness, causing double takes at Bowditch's no longer innocent demeanor.

It appears to be a record of indulgences as it moves from Bowditch's antics to another person's in the sensual Peccadilloes. But with themes of fear and spite surfacing in I Am Not Allowed and Between The Tea And The Toast, 'The Moon Looked On' turns into an outpouring of emotion and for a good portion she returns to the dramatic. Even in these sections, she imposes such beauty her seriousness is sometimes lost in the sheer attraction of the music (Little Black Cave displays this precisely, as does the haunting and eerie This Bastard Disease).

Bowditch has pleased with 'The Moon Looked On' by changing what we thought we knew about her but remaining grounded musically. With musical support from husband and producer Marty Brown, Bowditch has produced a satisfying record for fans new and old.

Monika Laskowski